A Thousand Years
by crystalswordEnthusiast
Summary: Who knew a simple, solo dungeon crawl would lead to Hiccup finding his fated one true love whose apparently been waiting for a thousand years? Certainly not Hiccup!


Jack starred at the boring white ceiling above, like he'd done every night for as long as he'd been trapped in here. In the tower.

His eyes flickered towards the barred window, and he looked longingly at the night sky, before looking back at the ceiling.

He felt his heart racing, though for what reason, he did not know. He just felt like maybe, soon, something would be happening.

Maybe his time was nearly up? He wasn't too sure, he'd long ago lost count of the days and years that passed. He'd given up after he realized that he'd been sleeping through days and weeks, and his calculations of the days had been thrown off, when he noticed winter had come in what he thought was summer.

He glanced over at the wall to his left, and noticed the tallies he made so long ago fading away.

Just another thing wasting away in this tower.

He sighed, and turned on his side, away from the door that was never opened, and towards the window he could never leap through. There was no point in staying awake. It's not like he'd be leaving anytime soon.

* * *

Hiccup couldn't believe this was happening. His lungs burned, his foot was throbbing, and his body ached all over. This was the hardest situation he'd ever been in in his whole life. It looked like the end, and still he pushed, he continued to run, despite the fact that the odds of surviving weren't exactly in his favor.

He had three dragons on his tail, their fire close enough to make him sweat, licking his heels as he ran. The warmth didn't cease, for when one stopped the other started up. The fire was so close, probably singing the tips of his hair. Luckily, it did not seem to get his skin.

He squinted at the path ahead, illuminated by the continuous fire behind him. If only he wasn't outnumbered, how he'd gladly take his sword and chop off one of their heads. A dragon their size would definitely drop a few hearts, and maybe a few coins, though he wasn't too excited about grabbing those.

He tried to smile as he saw the door up ahead didn't require a key, and the thought of safety being so close pushed him a little harder.

He made it to the door, the distance between him as the dragons much larger than it previously had been due to his small burst of energy. He used all his strength to push the door open and ran inside the next room.

He saw the fire coming towards him and quickly slammed the door shut behind him, effectively sealing away the dragons that moments ago had been trying to burn him alive.

He leaned against the door for a moment, trying to catch his breath and calm his mind.

That had been a close one. If only Toothless could come with him, if only his buddy hadn't been too afraid to come underground. Things would have gone very differently back there.

He sighed and wiped the sweat from his forehead away with soot covered hands. There was no use in pondering the what if's of the situation

He reached into his satchel and pulled out his bottle, taking a swift gush of water before capping it and putting it away. He fished around within his bags contents before he pulled out his lantern. He wasted no time in switching it on.

With his new source of light, to illuminate the room, he quickly made a scan. He was torn between relief (at there being no enemies inside) and annoyance as he noticed the grand, spiral staircase before him that seemed to stretch up towards the sky forever.

He had made it, finally. He pulled the map he had made from his pocket, along with his charcoal and quickly charted the last room, making three x's to note the dragons, and added on this new room, and it's staircase.

He put his things away and grabbed his lantern, before approaching the staircase. He paused as he put his hand on the railing. Whatever was up there, it was no doubt a wonderful prize. Those three dragons were obviously placed there as a test, to ward off those unworthy of the treasures that lie ahead.

With the idea of treasures untold, and the wonderful ego stroke of knowing that he was probably the first in a long time to make it this far, he quickly began climbing the stairs with a new rush of energy.

He didn't even know why he was doing this. Well, actually, that was a lie. He did know, he did it for the adventure. He did it for the thrill, and the fun. He didn't do it for the treasure, or the fame, though he couldn't help getting both.

He didn't need the treasure, his dad was chief after all, and he didn't want or need the fame, though he seemed to get quite a bit of it unfortunately. He hated that now, all the girls and even a few boys threw themselves at him, when before he had discovered a way to tame the dragons they had sneered and laughed at the sight of him. He hated it, it was all so phony.

He loved the thrill of being inside mysterious dungeons, fighting monsters and evil dragons beside his best friend. He did it because the idea of finding uncharted mysteries and discovering new things was too appealing. He loved the rush and the danger and the knowledge he gained from adventuring. The idea that he could actually die at any moment and nobody would ever know only seemed to make it all the more worthwhile.

He was just a bored little boy with too much time on his hands.

He stopped for a moment, to take a quick breather and another drink of water, and looked up. He noticed he could see the ceiling now, and the thought of being this close to finishing the hardest dungeon in the LOFAS made him smile wider.

He took off running up the stairs, silently cursing himself for not taking up Astrid's offer to teach him how to flash step. He pushed himself when he grew tired, knowing he was almost there, and figuring he should haul ass to the very end, finish strong, like his dad always said.

He tiredly noted that it was getting a bit cold. Not too cold, nowhere near anything to be suspicious about, but there was a significant temperature drop from how warm it was down below when the dragons were in the other room

He got to the top and came face to face with a door, nearly slamming right into it due to his fast pace. He looked at it, covered in frost and ice, and grinned.

This was it. He reached for the key in his satchel and quickly withdrew it, turning back towards the door. He pushed the key through the ice on the handle and into the lock, turning it until he heard the small click.

He breathed out as he withdrew the key, and squinted at his breath in the air. When did it get so cold?

He shook his head. There was no time for such thoughts. He fumbled with the frosted, slippery handle, before finally getting a grip and turning it. He eagerly pulled open the door and rushed inside.

The first thing he noticed, was that it was cold. No, that was an understatement, it was freezing, and it seemed most everything inside was covered in a frosty layer of ice, including the barred window. The second thing he noticed was that it was small. Painfully so. There was a only bed right in the middle, and a few books and things scattered about here and there. None of this seemed very interesting, or valuable. Where was the heart, and the treasure, and the portal?

Wait, bed? He quickly turned to it, senses on high alert, and gasped when he saw the sleeping boy lying peacefully.

Was this the dungeons boss? Was this sleeping boy supposed to be filled with unspeakable evil? He was just a boy though. Weren't those dragons he avoided earlier the boss?

He withdrew his sword and edged toward the bed, trying to step on what may activate the boss. He knew that holding this sword as he approached a sleeping boy probably looked awful when taken out of context, but he didn't want to be ill prepared, he didn't underestimate the power of bosses.

He stood at the foot of the bed, and waited. Why was nothing happening?

Finally, after standing there for a full minute, he figured this boy wasn't the boss, and quickly he re seathed his sword. Maybe this wasn't the end. Maybe he was supposed to help the boy escape, or go to another room.

He looked him over. He was so peaceful, lying there, looking something akin to an angel. He had short, wild, snow white hair, and pale glowing skin that seemed to shine brighter in the moonlight that poured in from the window. He was dressed in a fine blue tunic with intricate white designs on the collar and sleeves and simple white pants. There were no shoes upon his feet, though he was in bed so that didn't seem like such a big deal. Overall, he looked much better than Hiccup did with his slightly charred hair and soot covered armor.

He quickly walked over to the bedside, and shook the boy.

"Excuse me." He whispered softly. "Wake up please." Being polite would probably be wise in this situation.

The boy abruptly sat up as though he were on fire, his eyes glowing a bright blue. Hiccup recoiled and his hand moved towards the hilt of his sword, just in case.

Although his worry was unnecessary as the light in boys eyes quickly died out, revealing large, blue human eyes.

The boy turned to look up at Hiccup. "Have you defeated the dungeon?" He asked quietly.

Hiccup slowly nodded. "I think so yes. Although I'm not entirely sure. I haven't found anything to let me know I have, like a heart, or the exit."

The boys face broke out into a smile. "Oh I knew you'd come for me! My hero!" He cried before flinging his skinny arms around Hiccup's neck.

Hiccup was at a loss for words. What was this boy talking about?

"Daddy told me you'd come, and that I'd have to be patient. He set up this dungeon, and said you'd be the only one able to get past the booby traps and puzzles, and that you'd defeat the three headed dragon just for me! I was starting to lose hope! I mean, a thousand years is an awful long time, and it's very hard to track time when you're locked in a tower, but that doesn't matter because you came for me!" He snuggled closer to Hiccup's neck, soot mixing into his beautiful hair. "My hero." He whispered dreamily.

Hiccup shook his head to gather his thoughts, though it was a bit difficult to do when this boy clung to him so tightly. "Your hero? A thousand years? What?"

The boy nodded. "Aye. I was born over a thousand years ago, but I died in a tragic ice skating accident. So the Man in the Moon raised me from the lake from which I died in, and took me on as his son. He made me Prince of the Winter, and rightful ruler of the Land of Frost and Snow. Unfortunately, this was all great, save for one small factor. You weren't there yet. Daddy said you weren't destined to be born for another nine hundred, eighty three years. So he locked me up here, in this magically protected room that restricted me from aging, until you were born and could come take me away. And now you're here, you've come for me just like daddy said you would!" He turned towards the window. "Look, the moonlight is coming in through my window. That's never happened before, and now that it is I can only imagine that must be daddy giving me the affirmation that you are my beloved."

Hiccup stared at the boy snuggled up to his side. "You've been in here for a thousand years?" He asked, still not believing that this young looking boy was a thousand years old. He looked younger than Hiccup did!

"Yes my King. I've waited for you for a thousand years, waiting for you to come and free me and let my heart beat for you for a thousand more."

"King?" Hiccup was suddenly feeling lightheaded. This was all happening so fast. Although for some reason it all felt entirely right.

"Well of course. Now that you're here I can take my place in the kingdom as King, and, as my true love, you'll naturally rule by my side."

The boy smiled at him warmly, and Hiccup couldn't help but smile awkwardly back. There was something about being here, and listening to this boy speak that just right, in a weird way. It was still a bit hard though, to know this was the boy he was fated to be with when he didn't even know his name. Bit of a strange way to meet your true love.

"Tell me my hero, what is your name?"

"Hiccup Haddock III." He said proudly, smiling at the boy. "And your name, my prince?" Might as well play along.

The boy blushed, a beautiful rosy color that spread all over his face and filled Hiccup's insides with a warm feeling. "My name is Jack Frost." He said, before turning to look out the window. "Can we leave now Hiccup? I wish to live once more."

Live once more? He wanted to question it, but decided not to. Instead he looked around the small room. "How do we leave?"

As if an invisible force had heard his question, a portal suddenly opened up on the floor, a heart popping out next to it.

Hiccup stood and turned to offer Jack his hand which the white haired boy gladly took. He helped him up, before leading him towards the portal. He stopped to collect the heart, feeling his energy replenish, before he stepped into the portal with his new Prince.

This, Hiccup concluded as he wrapped his arms around Jack after they had been transported outside and into the snow, was the best treasure he could ever find. Jack had waited for him for a thousand years, and now, in return he'd help him learn to live once more, and he'd live for him and this would be the start of their forever, together like it was always meant to be.


End file.
